[ubuntu-in] 32-bit version on a amd 64 system!

[Biswajit Dutta Baruah]

Friends,

I was just wondering if it's possible to install a 32-bit version of 
ubuntu 9.04 on an amd 64 system.

I thought it was not possible. But nevertheless since I carry a 32-bit 
version on a pen drive, I attempted to do so on a friend's compaq 
presario notebook. To my surprise, the whole process went smoothly. The 
system booted in but there was no display. I tried installing the nvidia 
drivers through envy but that didn't help as well.

I remember sometime back when I was installing ubuntu via cd's the 
installation would warn about the mismatch. But this time around there 
were no such error messages. Windows does permit installing 32-bit 
versions on amd 64, don't they?

My question therefore is: Is the graphics display problem due to the 
mismatch? In other words, is it possible to install a 32-bit ubuntu 
version on an amd 64 platform? ( On a more general note, I would like 
your opinion on the amd 64 platform. I know this is not the forum for 
it, so you can refuse to answer this last bit. But I think there is a 
role for discussions on a mailing list and not just query-answer sessions)

regards,

Biswajit
aka orthodoc